" Lasalette's comercial religion ( in my blog , year 1998, December 18 )

Lasalette 's commercial religion " All those lights ! " is a rather childish reason for visiting the LaSalette shrine in nearby Attleboro. But around Christmas time those hundreds of gaudy lit trees attract crowds. The faithful ? The true believers in The Apparition of Mary ? Walking around the displays , sipping hot apple cider on a cold clear night, the visible stars above seemed to radiate more " spiritually " I thought . Does any still devout Catholic share my revulsion of this phony religious circus - the Lasalette shrine ? The " vibes " I get from the faithful here are about as spiritual as the " vibes " I get at the Warwick Mall. Is LaSalette a miniature version of Lourdes ? Jesus on sale here ! Mary - A Coming Attraction ! Bring your plastic blue glow-in -the - dark - rosary beads to hail Her ! For a reasonable fee here alcoholic Catholics and divorced Catholics and about to crack up Catholics can get spiritual counseling . But not much help for religious junkies ! Quite honestly Lasalette makes me long for the old time religion of the Dark Age . Now that was the real thing !